Field dressing

Field dressing doesn’t bother me at all, but I don’t want to eat meat for a little while afterwards.
As for the smell, I honestly kind of like it. Every now and then, we’ll open one up, and it’ll smell like the distilleries in Bardstown.

You don't have to field dress them. Look up the gutless method. It works really well if you quarter in the field. I gut them to get the heart and liver but still debone them right where they fall most of the time. Been gutting some type of animal my whole life basically, so it doesn't phase me. I know some people who can't though; I understand. I like the smell; it smells like success.

Doesn't bother me at all, but if at all possible, I've stopped gutting mine and I will hang and skin and debone the meat quickly. I even get the inside loins. It helps, not be as messy, since I'm also allergic to deer blood. I break out and itch where it touches me.

Field dressing doesn’t bother me at all, but I don’t want to eat meat for a little while afterwards.
As for the smell, I honestly kind of like it. Every now and then, we’ll open one up, and it’ll smell like the distilleries in Bardstown.

Only time I gut them is when they are not easily accessible by ATV. If I can get to them rather quickly, I load them, take them to the camp and use the gutless method. If i have a long drag or it’s going to be a bit more time for whatever reason, I absolutely get those guts out and doesn’t bother me to bad.

As davers pointed out, training can help...
I also have a biology degree (and a few others to boot) with a lot of dissection...as well as medical school training to be a surgeon (but chose to teach instead)...

Field dressing 101...

1. Remove heavy outer garments if possible...I wear a blaze orange hoodie under my heavy jacket this time of year (gun seasons)...and push sleeves up...gloves are a good option (I usually do not wear them for field dressing, but if done correctly there is not a lot of blood to deal with)...

2. Position deer so head is slightly downhill (if possible)...this keeps blood in the chest cavity since it will flow down hill (and on chest shot deer-lungs and heart-most blood is located here)...

3. Cut through skin (not muscle) from sternum to anus passing around genitals and/or milk glands...this direction decreases the amount of hair cut free that can get on meat...

4. Start at the rear of the deer, cutting down to the pelvic bone...I use a saw blade on my leatherman's tool to cut through the pelvic bone, which opens the deer up nicely...then with the drop point blade, cut around the anus and genitals if present...

5. Cut through the abdominal muscles starting at the front of the pelvic bone with your index finger on top of the knife blade...your finger will push the intestines/stomach away from the blade avoiding cuts to them...only the rectus abdominis muscle should be cut...

I continue my cut forward through the rib cage (just off to the side of the sternum) unless the deer will be shoulder mounted (stop at bottom of rib cage)...

6. Cut through the diaphragm muscle separating the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity...cut all the way around...should be a minimum of blood even to this point (assuming it is not gut shot)...

7. Turn the deer so that the head is uphill...blood will begin to drain back from the chest...give it a couple of minutes and very little will remain in the chest...just don't step in it...

8. Reach above the heart (easy if you split the chest open...more challenging if you did not because of a shoulder mount)...and severe the esophagus and trachea above the heart...

9. Gripping the trachea, pull downward towards the rear of the deer...the chest contents will come out...there are a few membranes that help to hold the intestines in place around the kidneys that will need to be cut, but this is not difficult...once those are free, the whole thing slides right out...

10. Do a quick postmortem, examining the bullet/arrows path through the vitals...did everything perform like it should have?

11. Cut the heart and liver free if you are keeping them... Diabetics should NOT consume the liver...place in ziploc bags...

12. A couple of baby wipes from another ziploc will clean the little blood on you off (if done correctly, the blood will not be above your wrist)...wipe off your knife/saw blades as well...blood carries oxygen and will accelerate rusting if not removed quickly...

Never got sick field dressing but did come close on my sons first gut shot. Nice cold morning put a fresh dip in open the buck up not realizing it was gut shot didnt look that far back it took me a min or 2 to get things settled back down. I should of made him finish it now that i think about it